A Wonderful Occidental Mindoro Vacation

From sleeping in the pier and 12-hour agony to the sunny daytime hike and cool nighttime camping, my first adventure in the island of Mindoro was truly spectacular!

Waiting for our boat to dock.

Arriving at the Port Abra de Ilog 15 hours after.

Waking up to the sound of the waves and the gritty feeling courtesy of the white sand of Paluan.

 

It's hot, baby!

The Hunter's Hut, which is usually occupied by Very Important Persons on their breaks from hunting games, as per our Mangyan guides.

Sunset or sunrise?

Good morning, Calavite!

The beautiful sunrise!

Human-infested Batong Agila! Yes, the rock resembles a nesting bird (eagle) at a distance.

Enjoying Tarak-feeling at the Calavite Ridge.

Good night, Arabe Cove!

Crossing the sea to buy some really cheap marine creatures.

Albert, the anchorman! Oy, tama ba 'yang paghagis mo?

Waiting for the banca to arrive.

First fish! Parang first baby lang.

It's more fun in Arabe Cove! Beer + seafoods = fun to the nth level!

Preparing for the kilawin, courtesy of Master Chef Albert.

Lechon - the true star! Pasensya na, 'yan lang ang nakayanan namin..... itira!

 Photo credits: Jayson Lizardo, Edu Odovelas, Lupotz Mountaineers

From The Beach To The Mountain

Climbing Mount Calavite is classified as minor with a 4/9 difficulty (PinoyMountaineer.com). Starting with a 12-hour agony with our boat ride to Port Abra de Ilog was never expected by anybody in the group. Those wasted hours of sleeping in the pier were offset by the magnificent morning view offered by the Arabe Cove. The hospitality of the people of Paluan, Occidental Mindoro were more than enough to soak us in great happiness. 

The next day that we woke up, everybody wanted to swim. Little did we know that it could push us late in accomplishing what has been planned.

The main star of our morning.

We were still glad that Sgt Aurelio Arabe took some time off from his duty as a peacekeeper and gave us a ride to Sitio Ulasan.

While on the rocky and hot road, the kind policeman noticed that one of the tires needed replacement.

Right there amidst the super-hot road, he moved under the vehicle and changed the flat tire.

At Sitio Ulasan, we were greeted by a Mangyan community. We hired two guides, Oliver and Sherwin, who are also barangay policemen. 

No children were harmed during the picture-taking.

When we were about to start the climb, a lady asked me and Albert where we are headed. We told the lady that we are going to climb the mountain. She became hysterical! I did not expect her reaction. A little explanation of her authority over the place should have been a nice gesture. But she was freaking like she owns the place by virtue of a divine what-not while exclaiming, “Pag sinabi kong hindi puwedeng umakyat, hindi kayo puwedeng umakyat!” Demmit! So I called Sgt Arabe and asked for his help. After the lady choked from the presence of the policeman, she allowed us to climb.

The sun was really naughty that day. It was too hot for us to handle.

Along the way, we divided the group into two: the first one was composed of Oliver the guide, Jayson, Marlon, Albert, Toto the chef and me; the second one was composed of Jayson (again), Bimbo, Cookie, Pathy, Alvin, Bibeth, Jay, Jesse and Sherwin the other guide. The first group was instructed to go ahead and cook lunch and dinner at the campsite. The second group stayed and waited for the sun to calm down.

We camped at a grassland area. Little did we know that it was part of the trail of carabaos. So when an herd appeared right before our eyes, we tried our best to scare them away. 

And so we had dinner with the big, bright moon.

And yes, the assault to the summit was scheduled the following day.

[Some of the photos were taken by Jayson Lizardo.]

From 2:00 AM to 2:00 PM

For Catholics, Holy Week is sacred. For some Catholics, Holy Week is Boracay Week - time to go sunbathing and see female and male humans in bikinis and trunks. People lined-up for the best view at the different beaches and churches of the country. It was really a splendid five-day vacation for everybody. I was torn between staying in the apartment and unwinding in some unknown places. At the last minute, I sketchily programmed my body to go to Occidental Mindoro and see the wonderful Mt Calavite.

Organised by the Lupotz Mountaineers, the group was composed of 14 people. The group met at Jollibee Alabang, 2300H (04 April). We headed to the nearby Alabang Central Terminal and boarded a bus bounded for Batangas City Pier (fare: 110pesos).

We reached the Pier and were greeted by a massive score of humans lined up outside the fences of the ticketing area. Unfortunately, the 0200H-boat left for Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro with us still lined up outside waiting for our turn to buy tickets. We learnt that the authorities stopped issuing tickets for Abra de Ilog because there was no available boat. We waited for the 0600H boat and slept on the line. That was my first experience with sleeping at the pier. Jeez! 

The line started to move like a paralysed centipede at 0800H. And the sun rose up in the sky in full radiance. We were left devising armours against the scorching heat.

After hours of standing under the sun, we got tickets for the 1400H-boat (fare: 260pesos; port fee: 30pesos). For a bit longer than two hours, we travelled floating over the waters of the Verde Island Passage. 

I just love this picture of a marine vessel plying near the Batangas Pier.

Is this part of the Verde Island?

Passengers adorned all the spaces, every corner and every nook. I was left with the choice of being throned along the aisle. When I opened my eyes and saw none of my groupmates, I stood and roamed like a vagabond in distress. Then I settled at the front rear of the boat. I tried to travel to Dreamland but the family having fun near where I seated kept on whining about dolphins and flying fish. Suddenly everybody went crazy with the dolphins racing with the boat. It was my first time with dolphins!

I thought Abra de Ilog looks like the grand Amazon Rainforest river system but I was disappointed that it was just a name.

We hired a van to Paluan (200pesos per head). It was getting dark and we were still on the way to the municipality. Everybody was talking about night-trekking, I was busy thinking about my headlamp and limited capability with trekking in the dark. I was glad they decided to rest over the night and start trekking early in the morning. But the van did not like to bring us to Sitio Ulasan. So we stopped at the Paluan Municipal Hall to ask for help. We asked for the DENR office. Unfortunately, the Park Superintendent is stationed in Mamburao, miles away (a bit exaggerated) from Paluan. Clueless what to do next, an aid was dropped from nowhere – Sergeant Arabe arrived like a knight in shining armour!

Sgt Arabe offered his place for us to stay for the night – complete with sand and sound of waves.  GOOD MORNING, OCCIDENTAL MINDORO!